When a witness for the defence declared that the British
prisoners were "unwilling to wash," the president remarked that that was an extraordinary statement, as everybody knew that the English were "very fond of baths." Captain Muller was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. There has been some strong criticism in the British Press of the lightness of these sentences. We do not say that the sentences are adequate to the brutality—they are not—but on the whole we are well satisfied with what has happened. After the first assurances that, as a result of the Peace Treaty, all the criminals from the Kaiser downwards would be tried and punished, doubt set in. Everybody became aware of the difficulties, and at one time the British people were inclined to give up hope that any war criminals would be tried at all. Moreover, at one time the Only plan which held the field was that the criminals should be tried by the Allies—a method which would not have carried any conviction to Germany.
